Power Sweep Powerhead

Review
If you have been wanting to get a powerhead that is also a wavemaker for your saltwater tank, then look no further than Zoomed's line of Power Sweep powerheads. Using just one of these powerheads gives you the ability to create water movement that before would have required 2 or even 3 powerheads to replicate. Having two on opposite ends of the tank can produce some fairly chaotic currents needed for many saltwater aquarium setups. Many marine aquarium keepers will think that these are exactly what the doctor ordered. The Power Sweep powerhead is an automatic self-rotating wavemaker that comes in three different models, each with a different flow rate, measured in gallons per hour (GPH).

Power Sweep 214 - For aquariums up to 30 gallons (114 liters) with a flow rate of 160 GPH

Power Sweep 226 - For aquariums up to 50 gallons (190 liters) with a flow rate of 190 GPH

Power Sweep 228 - For aquariums up to 75 gallons () with a flow rate of 270 GPH

They all have an adjustable flow rate that will allow you get the desired flow for your particular setup. The will fit all undergravel filter stem sizes and also comes with a pre-filter for the intake and a mounting bracket with suction cups. There is also a venturi aeration hole where you can use the aquarium tubing (comes with product) to mix in air with the wavemaking water motions. There is no way to regulate the amount of air entering the powerhead other than using a small screw (does not come with product).

Overall, we have been extremely pleased with this powerhead and the only negative that comes to mind is the mounting bracket. It doesn't seem to couple with the powerhead very tightly and it is very easy to knock the powerhead off the mounting bracket. The way the suction cups plug into the mounting bracket can also be annoying when first setting up. They easily come out of the mounting bracket and you need to get the powerhead's location right the first time, otherwise, when you move the mounting bracket some of the suction cups can easily come loose. Just kind of annoying but easily put up with for the waves it makes in the tank for such a cheap price.

The one we are using has been in use for approximately 4 months and so far so good. It is the Power Sweep 214 model and we are using it in a 10 gallon nano saltwater tank. Again, we are pleased with this product and would recommend it to other hobbyists.

Positives

Cheap price tag
Gives the marine aquarist the ability to create chaotic water movements (waves) in a saltwater aquarium.
One unit can replace 2 or 3 stationary style powerheads that were used to create these chaotic water movements.

Negatives

Mounting bracket could be sturdier, needs to affix to the powerhead better
Suction cups on mounting bracket can get annoying when setting up
Would be nice to have a way to regulate the air flow instead of having only an on or off situation. You can use a small screw but just having a sliding squeeze type ball for the airline tubing would have been a nice feature.

We give this aquarium powerhead 4 stars

More info on this powerhead

Power Sweep Powerhead Comments

From: Jacob
I've been using a power sweep 214 (I think that's the model) on my 10 gallon nano tank to create some turbulance in my tank. I'm very pleased with this power head. This piece of equipment does the work of two smaller powerheads that I was using previously. I wanted to find a way to reduce the amount of heat entering my tank and after experimenting, realized that when I left the powerheads turned off, the tank temperature was about 3 °F cooler. Having only one powerhead in my tank helps keep the tank slightly cooler. I do wish that they would have developed a better bracket to mount it on the aquarium glass. The one it comes with can be a pain when setting up.

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